First Friday at St. Edward

Before any activity, before the world can change there must be worship. Worship alone sets us truly free; worship alone gives us the criteria for our action. Precisely in a world in which guiding criteria are absent and the threat exists that each person will be a law unto himself, it is fundamentally necessary to stress worship.

Wishing a prayerful and joyful Holy Week to Father and everyone out in California from Mary Jane in Florida. There is not one day that I don't meditate now on Christ's saving Blood - and it's all thanks to Father.

hmmm. I am not sure what happened to the candles, Donalyn. I had not noticed that when taking the pictures. They were there for Mass, and I am not sure why the sacristan removed them. This is one of these moments when I sense that greater formation and education is necessary.

Not sure what's going on with the questions about candles at the tabernacle as well as the monstrance.

There's nothing in the GIRM lighted candles at the tabernacle, just the "special lamp" which is supposed to be "near the tabernacle" -- a norm to which many "sanctuary lamps" don't necessarily conform. (Maybe that's why the candles are creeping back, a new practice I've noticed in a number of places.)

To have exposition and then have candles calling our attention to the reserved eucharist seems to contradict the point of exposition!

I think there is some directive in the order for exposition that indicates that the same candles should be out for exposition as there is for Mass. If that is the case, since the candle are placed by the tabernacle for Mass here, they should also be there for exposition.

Is it the custom in the USA to have red cloth covering the crucifix and statues? Here in Australia we cover in purple cloth.

Re the candles for exposition.
Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite
Msgr Peter Elliott

Solemn Adoration of the Holy Eucharist
667. When the monstrance is used, for solemn public adoration, the following preparations are required:
668 Altar: Six or four candles (more according to widespread custom) burn on or around the altar.

This is not an officially recognized sourcebook for Catholic Liturgy. Actually the point quoted above is something Msgr Elliot grabbed from the Tridentine Liturgy, and the rules of the Order for the Solemn Exposition of the Eucharist are quite different.

The Church's Liturgical Law actually takes precedence over an individual priest (even myself) giving an opinion.

His "more, according to widespread custom" is directly contradicting the church's desire that it be the same for Mass.

We normally have four, as we have for Mass. I did not realize until someone pointed it out, that the sacristan, for some reason I am unaware of, took two of the candles away. I did not even notice in the hour that I spent there, or later when I took the pictures.

As for the color, as you can see we used purple for Lent. Red is the color for Palm Sunday.

But I'm really curious about why you think it's a good idea to have candles lit by the tabernacle during the Eucharist, when I thought we were supposed to be focusing on the eucharistic action at the Mass altar and not on the reserved eucharist???

It's not in any directive that I know of, and seems to contradict the spirit of the GIRM about how to treat a tabernacle that is front and center directly in line of sight of the Mass altar instead of in another prominent place.